The museum is housed primarily in Pouce Coupe's (pronounced Pouce Coupee) one time railway station, built in 1931 about three blocks west of its current location and moved here in 1972. The museum itself opened in 1973 and has grown constantly since.
Not only does the museum have an authentic railway station, it also has a
Northern Alberta Railway caboose parked behind that station. Naturally, it was that selfsame railway which built the station. As well as the caboose, the museum has four buildings packed with artefacts, Heritage House, the Trapper's Cabin, a tool shed and the original NAR Train Station. Artefacts in the collection depict each and every aspect of life in the Peace Country, including domestic life, agriculture, transportation, business and industry, medicine, even the effects of war on the people of the Peace Country.
Artefacts date back to 1889, when the first settler in the area filed a homestead claim. The museum has some items in its collection unlikely to be seen anywhere else, such as an incredible collection of watercolor paintings by Emily Henrietta Woods, one of
Emily Carr's childhood drawing teachers, and a turnip chopper, used to turn turnips into cattle feed.
There's one thing the traveller should take into consideration before visiting this museum: Locals are often to be found here upgrading, building, restoring, etc. and it can be quite easy to while away a full afternoon in conversation as the locals seem to be quite friendly.
Museum & Visitor Centre
The Pouce Coupe & District Museum & Visitor Centre is housed in the former N.A.R. Station. This building was constructed in 1931, with Jack Hardy as the first agent. It served the north east as a railway terminal for many years, before being relocated in 1972 to its present location at 5006 - 49th Ave, Pouce Coupe. It opened as a museum in 1973 and has operated continuously ever since.
NORTHERN ALBERTA
RAILWAY STATION
This railway station was built in 1931 on the west side of the village at the top of Columbia Avenue. After it closed, it was bought for a museum and moved to its present location in 1972 as a B.C. Centennial Project. The museum officially opened in May 1973, and has operated successfully ever since.